Más Bakersfield

Conversing with Cruz

Halfway through our interview, Cruz Ramos leans in, her hazel eyes sparkling and her tone quite conspiratorial as she reveals a secret:

“As a child, I was clairvoyant.”

When just a girl, according to Cruz, she could predict the weather, find items around the family house that had long been given up as lost — even correctly determine the gender of unborn babies.

But it’s unlikely that even she could imagine at the time the course her own life would take, from one of nine children in Chihuahua, Mexico, to a young girl helping her father pick crops in Weedpatch; a star student; a young wife and mother; a professional making a name for herself; Lamont Citizen of the Year; and a field representative for the California Department of Motor Vehicles F Street office, where she’s affectionately known as “The Cruzinator.”

And, since 1983, the role for which Cruz is perhaps best known — the founder, director, instructor, choreographer, theatrical trainer and award-winning costume designer for Grupo Bailarin de St. Augustine, a non-profit organization of children and adult dancers who dedicate themselves to propagating the Catholic faith and preserving the dance, music, art, songs and foods of Mexican folklore.

At 55, Cruz, a self-described “mover and shaker,” following a recent surgery, demanding job requirements, and her desire to be more available to her grandchildren, is finally passing the leadership reins of the popular folklórico group.

“I have big shoes to fill. I only hope that someday I will be as good as Cruz,” said Teresa Mendivil, the new director of the dancers.

Still, Cruz’s community involvement won’t end there — and neither will her story.

She recently took a rare break to sit down with MÁS — dressed in a festive frock she hand painted herself only minutes before — and share more about her background and plans for the future:

Cruzita’s roots
Cruz, with her trademark curly black hair, red-lipsticked boca and whirlwind, energetic spirit, points to a picture depicting a much younger version of herself.

“At 1 1⁄2, I was already dancing in the streets,” she recalled, smiling.

Cruz was born on Nov. 13, 1952, to Pascual Vasquez Reyes and Alicia Jacquez Reyes.

Alicia, Cruz’s mother, now 84, was a native of Torreon, Coahuila, in 1924, and lived with her mother — Los Dulces Nombres de Jesus, Maria y José San Juan Crisostomo y Nuestra Señora de Belen — a single parent, at the hacienda of a wealthy Spanish family.

She did the cooking and housekeeping for this family, who offered to educate Alicia, making sure she was proficient in praying, singing, dancing, table manners and castanets playing.

Alicia married at a young age, and from 1945 to 1950, gave birth to three daughters — Veronica, Taurina, and Lidia Salgado — before she was widowed.

Cruz’s father, Pascual, was born in 1925 in Chihuahua. His mother died after he was born, and he was raised by his siblings, working odd jobs like shoe shining starting at the age of 6.

In his teenage years, from 1942 to 1951, Pascual was a Juarez, Mexico Zoot Suit street dancer, performing alongside Germán Valdez — also known as “Tin-Tan,” the most famous dancer in Mexican cinema — and his brother, Ramon Valdez. Pascual was nicknamed “El Pato,” The Duck, while the Valdez brothers were known as “Los Pachucos Bien Vestidos,” or The Well-Dressed Pachucos.

When the Mexican government took land away from the Spaniards, the wealthy family moved back to Spain, and Alicia and her mother and children were forced to move to Durango, then Chihuahua.

When Pascual first set eyes on Alicia, he was entranced, but she was still married. After an appropriate amount of time passed after her husband’s death, Pascual made his good intentions known.

“He told my mother that he admired her education and upbringing, and that he wanted to help raise her three daughters,” said Cruz.

The two were married in Conchos, Chihuahua at San Pablo Church in January of 1952.

When their first child together, Cruz, was born, her mother recalled the beautiful cross at the church that had been draped in purple. That’s how Cruz’s nickname became “Cruzita,” meaning “little cross.”

Ranch neighbors also called her “La Borrada,” which means “hazel eyes.”

“My father wanted a boy, but they were happy I was healthy,” said Cruz, who added that times were hard as her father worked as a horse trainer and farm laborer. Often broke, Pascual used his well-honed gambling skills during one of the family’s early years to buy milk, beans, rice and flour for a Christmas dinner.

“Even though we were extremely poor, my parents made sure we were raised properly,” said Cruz, who remembers a happy home life where correct posture — in addition to singing and dancing — were mandatory.

Coming to America
Following the births of Isaac, Pascual Jr., and Rosario Reyes, Pascual decided it was time to move the family to America for better opportunities.

“He wanted to bring the family up right,” said Cruz of her father. “He said, ‘We need to go to Los Estados Unidos.’ He also said, ‘I will not be a burden to my new country.’”

From 1958 to 1962, the family lived at Sunset Camp in Weedpatch, Calif., where Pascual worked in the fields, often accompanied by his children. Cruz started working in the fields at age 5.

Despite the hard work, Cruz recalls it as a positive time in her life, she said.

“It was there that I got to meet the wonderful people called Okies. They were a very hospitable people,” said Cruz, who credits those Oklahomans with teaching her the first words of her English.

Unfortunately, it was about the same time that Cruz also first experienced discrimination — not the kind based on  color, but on economic status.

Eventually, and after persistently applying multiple times, Pascual got hired with the railroad for track maintenance and was soon promoted to machinist. It was the beginning of what would be a long career with the railroad.

In 1962, Alicia’s three oldest daughters, who had been unable to come with the family initially, came to the United States, and the family — which now included WAR drummer Marcos, born in 1960 — moved into a three-bedroom house in Lamont.

The only bathroom was an outhouse, said Cruz, and the children spent days cleaning broken glass bottles from its exterior.

Cruz’s sister, Susana was born in 1963.

Cruz attended Vineland School, where she learned how to read in the first grade and was the recipient of numerous gold stars, later attending Lamont School, Myrtle Avenue School, and Arvin High, where she also excelled, especially in English and the Arts.

Aware of his daughter’s academic abilities, Pascual soon set his sights on Pepperdine or Stanford universities for Cruz.

But she refused.

“I wanted the younger children to have the opportunity to go to college. I told my father, ‘Save the money for them. I will always work. I will always honor you,’” said Cruz.

Her father died July 14, 1995.

 

Work & St. Augustine
Cruz married at 19, and in 1973, gave birth to her daughter, Veronica, named after Cruz’s oldest sister. One more mija for Cruz — Muriel — would arrive a decade later. Currently, Cruz is not married, saying she’s “too busy for that!”

Cruz worked in the Bunny Carrot Shed packing sheds, then for Lamont’s Dr. Hollingsead, and later for I & I Onion Farms, and as a court interpreter for Kern County before being hired by the DMV in 1988, where she currently remains employed.

“Nothing could have made my father more proud. He said, ‘You’re working for the state!’” said Cruz, chuckling.

During this time, Cruz was also an active volunteer for St. Augustine Church in Lamont, where she dedicated many weekends to assisting the priests in religious and social activities revolving around the church, including starting the first church bulletin.

In 1979, after much prayer for confidence and bravery, Cruz revealed to her parents her intention of starting a dance group. She had already co-founded the St. Augustine Children’s Choir with guitarist Felipe Gonzalez.

“Aware of the long-term commitment I was stepping into and making my life public, I asked them to inherit me with their musical and dance knowledge of their youth, which was Spanish and Mexican folk,” said Cruz, who added that her parents wholeheartedly agreed and supported her dream. “The trust in me and the ‘OK’ from Father Román was all I needed to start the project and the folklóric research.”

Cruz describes her education as a “gradual process,” with her parents teaching her dances and songs and drilling her on rhythm and style.

During this time, Cruz also observed the work, rhythm and singing of the choir participants, which included her daughter, Veronica.

“In 1981, I told all 14 of them my plan to make dancers out of them. The boys protested, but said ‘yes,’” remembered Cruz, who also gave dancers the freedom to do break and pop dancing and Aztec dancing.

Over the years, the group has performed all over California, and has been featured on television, in newspapers and in Hispanic television commercials. Members range in age from 4 to nearly 60.

“Cruz has done an awful lot to promote the history and culture of Mexico through dance,” said the Rev. John Schmoll of St. Augustine’s. “In addition to that, she’s a good mom, a good Catholic and a good worker.”

Cruz estimates that she has taught danza to more than 1,600 people, and nine of those have gone on to become teachers and instructors of folk dance.

“Looking back, the highlight for me is that I have honored my father and  mother and my daughters, along with my Hispanic community as a leader,” said Cruz.

‘I’m still not afraid’
In addition to working and directing Grupo Bailarin de St. Augustine, Cruz volunteered for the Lamont Chamber of Commerce and Lamont’s library branch.

In October of 1992, she was appointed by then-5th District Supervisor Mary K. Shell as the first woman commissioner of the Kern County Recreation and Parks Department.

“Mary K. told me, ‘Now Cruz, don’t be afraid — it just takes common sense to do this job,’” Cruz said. “And she was right, and I’m still not afraid.”

In 1994, Cruz was named Lamont Citizen of the Year.

She currently serves as advisory council board member to the Danzantes Unidos Festival de California, and dances with SoLuna Mexican Folk Ballet, which recently attended the Las Vegas National Mexican Folklóric Dance Competition, where they placed second.

“I consider myself honest, trustworthy, religious and patriotic. A strict worker and mother and dad combined,” said Cruz, also a grandma to five — her youngest grandchild, Justice, lives with her. “I don’t wait for  someone to do the job where it is needed — I go right in and get it done, no matter the obstacles.”

Cruz said she will serve as an auxiliary member of the group, which recently changed its name to Grupo Folklórico Corazon de St. Augustine, and will always be available for advice.

Mendivil joined the group in 1985 as a teenager, and renewed her involvement when her own children became interested in dancing. She said she hopes to continue Cruz’s tradition of community involvement.

“My hope would be that the new director maintain the good name of the group, and that they don’t ever let criticism or other people bring them down,” Cruz said.

As for her personal goals, Cruz said there is one thing she hasn’t done yet:

“If I were to be given a choice or dream of what I would have liked to be right now, it would be that I were an ambassador of the United States of America, because the world would also know Mexico through me!” she said.